His Wicked Celtic Kiss (11 page)

Finally, he rolled up the towel and stuffed it in his gym bag. “Guess we won't be using that towel now.” Lorcan's smile showed pure contentment and satisfaction. He glanced around. “See? No one even noticed. Wicked, wasn't it? Admit it.”

Every inch of her skin was aflame. Julie kissed him, hard. It was the first time she had ever initiated a kiss. He cupped her cheek, angling her head for better access, then plunged deep, tasting every part of her mouth. Now she was the one moaning.

Lorcan pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. “We had better head for the water. I need to cool down.”

Cool down. Oh, yeah.
“Yes, I need a polar bear dip ASAP ... and Lorcan? It was wicked, and I loved it.”

As Lorcan stood, he smiled and brought her with him. Pulling her close, Lorcan slowly trailed his hand down her back. “Apparently there are some things I don't need to teach you,” he whispered hotly in her ear. “But I will give you a swimming lesson. Come on.”

Julie stepped out of her clam diggers and kicked them aside. He grabbed her hand and they ran toward the water. He laughed and so did she. Unabashed glee, enjoyment in each other and the beautiful day. They kicked up sand as they ran, just like in the video for that old Don Henley song, “Boys of Summer,” that she'd seen on VH1's
Totally 80s
show. Could the day be any more perfect?

Lorcan held her tight as she paddled awkwardly in the water. How glorious his large, masculine hands felt circling her torso, holding her steady while she flailed about. The first time he'd let go, she'd sunk like a stone, but he was there to lift her out of the water as she coughed and sputtered. Julie swore she'd swallowed part of the Chesapeake.

Lorcan laughed and kissed her flushed cheek. They tried again. The patience evident in his words soothed her, as he instructed the best way to coordinate her paddling with the movements of her body. Every so often he plunged his hand underwater and brushed by one of her breasts, teasingly stroking her hardened nipple. She would glance up at him, and he would give her an adorable look like a boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Every touch was so sexually charged Julie thought she would combust. How she wanted to stay like this in his protective embrace. Finally, he let go, and Julie moved ahead with no assistance. She sliced her arms through the water at a slow, choppy pace, but she was swimming!

Lorcan lifted her straight out of the water and above him like she weighed nothing. She looked down at him, he smiled triumphantly. “You did it, Julie!”

Julie threw back her head and laughed in utter joy at his heartfelt praise. Slowly he lowered her until their faces were level. He kissed her thoroughly. He then lowered her further until her toes met the sand. Her skin scorched with the contact of his muscular chest. Lorcan reached underwater and cupped her rear, bringing her hard against him. She couldn't keep the lustful gasp from escaping her lips. His erection pressed insistently against her stomach. “See what you do to me?” He laid kisses along her chin. “I want more. Come back to my place tonight. We've so much to explore.”

Yes. Deny myself nothing. Don't engage my heart. Take what he offers.
She could do it. Somehow since she'd met Lorcan, she hummed in a perpetual state of arousal. Her body vibrated like a tuning fork whenever he came near. He wanted to teach her wicked things?
Hell, yeah.
Julie ground herself against his hardness. “Yes ... I want this.”

Lorcan moaned. He cupped her face and he kissed her deeply. A younger couple walked by and snickered. Julie and Lorcan broke apart and laughed. “Guess we're causing a scene. Let's stay in the water a bit longer until this hard-on lessens. If it does,” Lorcan winked.

Julie laughed as she trailed her fingers along his well-sculpted jaw line. Beautiful man.

• • •

About six o'clock, they made their way to Henry's Fish Shack. The place was brightly lit and the cream-colored walls were decorated with large oil paintings of pounding surf and magnificent sandy beaches. Also near the front of the restaurant in the corner, the standard lobster trap and fishing nets made for an ornamental if somewhat cheesy touch.

The odor of deep fried seafood hung languorously in the air, enticing their taste buds. A bottle of white wine was delivered to their table. Lorcan poured and handed her a glass while she perused the menu. Lobster! She hadn't had it in ages. Dare she? She had indulged in other wicked, sinful ways today. Why not top it off with rich, decadent, expensive crustacean? Ultimately, though, she decided to be a good girl and ordered the grilled salmon with dill sauce and steamed vegetables. Julie would save the wicked indulgence for Lorcan. He, however, had no such compunction, and when the waitress returned to take their orders, he selected a one-pound lobster complete with potato salad, roll, and sliced, grilled tomato.

Sitting back, Julie glanced around at the ambiance. “This is lovely, Lorcan. It's been such a wonderful day.”

Lorcan raised his glass. “Aye, darlin', and it's not over yet. Here's to fun in the sun and with any luck, fun under the stars.”

Oh, my.
She reached for her wine glass to clink with his. Her body trembled with a simmering yearning but also a rank nervousness. How tempting it would be to scream into the kitchen to cancel their orders and drag him home to ravish him. Julie sipped the cool Riesling as she moved her thoughts away from scenarios of wild sex. “Lorcan, when did you leave the secret service?”

He furrowed his brows and that dark shadow moved fleetingly through his eyes again. “Almost two years ago.” He twirled the stem of his wine glass.

“And what did you do after that, until you came here?” she asked. She wanted to know everything about him. Hopefully he would be a little forthcoming.

Lorcan twirled the glass a little faster. “I decided to go into business for myself. I became a driver, bodyguard, transporter, or whatever.”

“Transporter, like the movie? Sounds exciting.”

He shrugged, but looked clearly uncomfortable to be talking about himself and his past. The dark shadows clouded his eyes once again. “No, it was dead boring at times. Fat cat oil blokes hired me mostly. I stayed in Dubai for six months. I spend three months in Germany driving for a beer baron. Other small jobs took me to Luxembourg, Belgium, and Denmark. I was home visiting my parents in Ireland when Sully called. My friend, Sullivan McDermott, is cousin to the De Lucas. He asked if I wanted to come to the States with him for a while. I figured, why the bloody hell not? I needed the downtime.”

Julie took another sip. “Sounds like you didn't get back to Ireland much.”

“I didn't. When Sully called me, it was only the third time I'd been back in almost twelve years. I didn't realize how much I missed it. It's home, you know? Familiarity. Comfort. Family. Thought, this is where I'm staying from now on. Yet, when Sully called, I was off again. Guess I'm not made to stay in one place for long.”

The joyousness she felt deflated like a bike tire with a large hole. There it was again. He would not be staying and would only be in her life briefly. Then, he would be gone. She shook her head. No. She wouldn't keep thinking about his pending departure.
Enjoy what time I have with him. Savor it. Savor him.
“Maybe ... ” she ventured quietly, “You haven't found anything or anyone to make you stay permanently in one place.”

Lorcan threw back his wine and poured more. He topped hers off. He remained silent for a few moments. “Perhaps. Guess I'm hard to please. I love my family so why did I join the army at nineteen? Did I want to see the world? Maybe I wanted to take a different road than the one I'd been traveling on. I became involved in a lot of illegal activities as a teenager. Sully, and my cousin Ronan and I were a bad lot, and we were on the path to become much worse. I ran away. Pure and simple. Been running ever since.”

Julie smiled. “You don't strike me as the type to run away from anything, Lorcan.”

“Ah. Thank you, darlin'. But I do—frequently.”

She sighed.
Will he run from me?
She didn't want to be seen fishing for compliments as it were, even if she did sit in Henry's Fish Shack.

Lorcan looked at her strangely. Hell, did she just speak that aloud—about him running from her? “As long as I'm here in Rockland, I won't be running from you. I want us to see each other. You enchant me as no other woman ever has. Do you know how lovely you really are? Your eyes are a beautiful golden-brown and your skin is luscious to the taste and touch, your body ... ” He closed his eyes. “Even just thinking about my hands roving over your curves makes me hard.”

Julie's mouth literally dropped open. A warm flush covered her cheeks and a stark but brief embarrassment rolled through her. His words stirred her desire, a vast and potent desire she had no idea existed. He certainly didn't mince words and she had to admit, she loved it.

Opening his eyes, he murmured, “But that isn't what caught my attention. It was you ... yourself. You have such an alluring mixture of strength and vulnerability. Your sense of humor. Your honesty. You, what's inside. A passionate, giving woman.”

Damn it, she was close to blubbering right into her wine. Julie swallowed hard, fighting back the swell of emotion. “Thank you. I've worked hard to overcome my insecurities. Sometimes, I slip back into the old ways. A bad habit I'm trying very hard to break.”

Lorcan picked up her hand and kissed it affectionately. “We all have insecurities of one type or another, Julie. All of us. No worries. Would you like us to date exclusively while I'm here? I would like to get to know you better. Granted, I'll be busy being at Vinnie De Luca's beck and call, but what free time I have, I want to spend with you.”

She would take any time he would dole out. Anything. Lorcan really was too good to be true, there had to be
something
off about him. She paused as she realized what she'd just thought. Because he was interested in her, that made him too good to be true? No, that was her life-long self-doubt trying to creep back in. The thoughts horrified her and she pushed them away. “I would like that, Lorcan. Very much.”

He kissed her hand again before he let it go. “Good. Next Sunday I'm sure I'll be free again, I'll help you move into the little flat at the bakery.” He smiled at her. “So you and me. Exclusive. You follow?”

She smiled broadly. “I follow.”

When the food arrived to their table, Lorcan attacked the lobster with gusto. Using the nutcrackers, he smashed the claw into shards and a piece hit her on the cheek.

Julie laughed. “Hey, you caught me with some shrapnel!”

“Sorry about that.” He dipped a piece of the succulent white meat in butter and held it out for her to eat. Julie held his wrist gently, leaned in and slowly took the morsel into her mouth. She teasingly licked the butter from her lips, and then licked the tip of his finger, watching his reaction. Lorcan moaned softly. But as she pulled away, he frowned. “Darlin', are you all right? You look as red as the lobster on my plate.”

Julie placed her fork on the plate and felt her cheeks with both hands. “I
am
a little warm.”

“I think you have a sunburn and looks like a bad one. What SPF did you use?”

Julie shrugged, “I never go to the beach. I just grabbed a tube of lotion. I don't know anything about them really.”

“Do you have it in your bag?” Julie nodded, reached in and passed it to him. “Oh, darlin'. This bleedin' stuff is useless, SPF four? And it isn't waterproof. This is oil based. You might as well of slathered yourself in cooking grease and jumped into a fry pan. This washes off in water. You had no protection from the sun.”

Julie glanced down at her chest. The skin flamed an angry crimson and so did her arms. She stuck a leg out by the side of her chair. Aye, red as a beet.

“Eat up. We'd better get you home.”

• • •

By the time Lorcan and Julie arrived at her apartment, the red cast to her skin looked angry and sore to the touch. Her stomach roiled as waves of nausea clawed their way through her insides. Lorcan gently placed his arm around her and assisted her inside. It even hurt to bend her legs to walk. Julie had seen the news programs concerning the warnings about the sun's UV rays, and being such a sun virgin, she should've taken extra precaution. When she did her shopping, she'd been so flustered over the prospect of going to the beach with Lorcan she'd grabbed any lotion. Didn't read the ingredients, wasn't vigilant about the protection.
Idiot!

She didn't feel good. Not at all. In fact, she'd never felt this sick before. Her head swan. Lorcan took her keys and opened her door, while trying to keep her upright. Her stomach lurched violently. “Lorcan … I … I think I'm going … ”

No sooner had she stepped through the door when the contents of her stomach spewed out of her mouth with such force it hit the wall in front of her. Lorcan steered her towards her bathroom. Lifting the lid on the toilet, Lorcan stepped aside and she vomited again. He held her hair back and away from her face and gently caressed her back and murmured softly. Heaving from her toes, Julie kept puking until there was nothing more to bring up. Snot ran out of her nose and drool dripped from her mouth. It was official. She'd never been this sick in her life. So sick she couldn't care less how she looked. If it wasn't for Lorcan holding her up, she'd be on her knees kissing the porcelain bowl.

Finally, mercifully, it stopped. Lorcan flushed the toilet and gently guided her to sit. Julie cried out in pain as she bent her legs. Grabbing a hand towel, he ran it under warm water and wiped her face. The bathroom smelled now, and if she weren't so ill, she would have been embarrassed to the core. Julie opened her eyes and looked at him. Lorcan didn't seem horrified or grossed out, just concentrated on the task at hand. He pulled a paper cup from the dispenser and filled it with water. “Rinse and spit, get the taste out of your mouth,” he instructed in a soft voice.